Memorial Day is no more a holiday for me than any other day. I never could get excited about celebrating anything that had to do with war, the military, the flag. John Philip Sousa music grates on my nerves as much as "Onward Christian Soldiers." I'm glad that Hitler was defeated, and I realize that war, at times, is necessary. It just seems to me that we get way too puffed up as a nation about where we've fought, who we've beat, how great we are. Glorifying war just leads to more war. I see the decline in interest among young people to join our all-volunteer military as an encouraging sign. And if that makes me unpatriotic in some peoples' eyes, so be it. When we have eradicated illiteracy, poverty, and disease in the world, then we will have a legitimate reason to celebrate.

The only red, white and blue I've seen today is the baby blue jay that Mick killed. Now we have the mockingbirds and the blue-jays mad at us. Open the front door and it sounds like a scene from the Hitchcock movie "Birds."
Glad I wasn't planning to fire up the grill and cook hamburgers today.

My throat is not as raw as it was, but the neck and shoulders still ache horribly and the cough won't go away. I take plenty of stretch breaks from the computer, so I don't think that's what caused it. I had a flu shot, so it's not that. The glands in my neck seem to be swollen, I probably should go to the doctor, but he's closed today. I've got a check-up scheduled for Thursday, I'll just wait until then. There's no fever, but a slight headache. The ibuprofin took out the headache, but the shoulders and neck are still hurting. I'm drinking plenty of my new favorite drink - Lipton's bottled diet green tea with citrus, keeps me hydrated and boosts the old immune system, too. Not much to do but suffer through it. I sure hope the kids didn't get whatever it is I got. It probably came from breathing all that recirculated air on the plane.